Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"God, is your trailer free enough?"

Ronald took Polly Platt and the production manager from Fox to Melanie's trailer to talk to him. When he entered, he asked about a sour smell, and several people frowned. , looking around for the source of the flavor.

Looking around, Ronald realized that this woman's trailer was really sloppy. It seems like no one has tidied it up in a month, and there is all kinds of garbage in there.

"Sorry, I've been focusing on movies recently, so here..." Melanie and the manager urgently cleared the table and sofa, putting away all kinds of takeaways, vegetable salad boxes, empty Coke bottles, etc. Once the trash is in the trash bag, sort out a place to sit.

Ronald ignored the two empty whiskey bottles Melanie had secretly hidden. Melanie did not delay the filming afterwards. Her private life was undergoing a sudden change, so it was better not to delay the filming anyway.

"Listen, Melanie. You're great in the movie, but as good as you are, we know how bad it can be when you're addicted to alcohol and drugs."

Ronald glanced at Melanie, wondering if her shameful look was staged, and continued, "I told you, the production company deducted $100,000 from your salary for reshoots. But after Your performance once again satisfied Fox, and Mr. Goldberg was also impressed by the samples you later sent, so they decided to be nice to you and reshoot the wedding scenes with the cost of the crew's funds."

"Oh...I...thank you..." Melanie Griffiths is not a successful actor. One hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money to her.

"Here's a check," Ronald gestured to the production manager, who handed over a check drawn out in the name of bonus. Melanie's manager took over, and she too was happy for her client.

"In addition, I have booked the best rehabilitation center in Los Angeles for you, and a four-week short-term treatment course is waiting for you."

"Ronald..." Melanie Griffiths didn't expect that Ronald would send her to a rehabilitation center, which made her stunned. I heard that such a place was not very good, and was similar to a mental hospital.

"Don't worry, it's a great place, you have someone to take care of you, it's the most upscale place, I have friends who were actors and producers... I can't name names... who went there and successfully kicked their alcohol addiction.

Life there is very comfortable, just like living in a serviced apartment for a month, except there are no excitement and parties every night. You can even treat it as a vacation there. There are also many Hollywood celebrities who go there, you will know it when you arrive.

I have paid the fee for you. If you are willing to go, just call them. "

Without waiting for her answer, Ronald looked at Griffith's manager Phyllis Carlile, "I just think Melanie is a talented actor and she may have a successful career. If you care about her, If so, help me persuade her to clean up her body thoroughly. After all, the actor's body is their most important prop. An addicted actor only has about five years to create roles..."

Phyllis whispered to Melanie, and she was convinced and agreed to go to the rehabilitation center.

Melanie Griffiths, who was taken to a California reservation by her mother when she was not very old and lived among wild animals, rarely received such care.

Except for her ex-husband who took advantage of her and lived with her when she was very young, Don Johnson, the star of the TV series Miami Vice, all men in Hollywood just want to take advantage and have a relationship without being responsible... Not to mention some people Not even willing to take advantage.

Melanie felt the warmth of being cared for, but didn't know how to express it, so she turned her head away from Ronald.

Ronald handed the contact information of the rehabilitation center to the manager, and he and Polly Platt left the trailer that looked like a trash can. He let out a sigh of relief. The smell inside was almost like vomit.

"It seems that you value her very much? I rarely see a director fight for an actor like this, especially when she almost ruined your business." Polly asked Ronald.

"Today's actors are not like the big studios in the past, where someone created their image, specially selected suitable roles for them, and even customized scripts for them. Some are just agents who only look at the remuneration and their own income, and few actresses have In the long run, I don't want her to have to take on those bad movies just for money.

So I am quite generous to the actors in my films. With money, they will not only consider the salary but not the long-term considerations when choosing films. "

Ronald treats actors well, and "Dirty Dancing" also gave the leading actors extra bonuses. The heroine Jennifer Gray can afford all kinds of expensive clothes and jewelry in the short term, and has enough time to slowly choose the script. .

"You are very old-school gentleman when you do this. You remind me of Roger." Polly Platt faintly heard Melanie's suspected whimpering in the trailer. She looked at Ronald and liked this young man very much. The principles of how people do things.

"My ex-husband, Peter, abandoned me and our children for Sybil Shepard. I was alone at home without a new job and almost didn't survive. You know, Hollywood doesn't have much sympathy for abandoned wives like us... "

Polly Platt talked about the past, and she was very emotional today. Not only did Hollywood not sympathize with her, some people also felt that she neglected to dress up and did not know how to please her husband Peter, so she deserved to be robbed of her husband by Sybil.

"We have so many friends, but Roger only calls me and asks me to come to work in his company at any time. Although the salary is not much, he is the only one who gives me a job and is willing to pay my salary, and he is also the only one who does not make fun of me. , I am forever grateful to him.”

"Hahaha, I have been to China. People there have a saying that a true friend will pay for your heating fuel when you are cold."

"You and his business abilities are also very similar. For big projects funded by others, you try to be as artistically perfect as possible, and for projects funded by yourself, you just make low-cost movies. Of course, Roger doesn't have your artistic ability. , he just imported some good foreign art films.”

"Hahaha..." Ronald laughed. He was indeed a bit like Roger Corman. For a movie he financed himself, not losing money was his first priority.

"Then are you willing to agree to come to Daydream and help me? It's not that I just want to make low-cost movies, but it's hard to find reliable producers. Most people just want to use the shooting budget to put it in their own pockets.

The conscientious manager with a financial background does not have the artistic taste required for filming movies. "

Ronald took the opportunity to make an invitation to Polly Platt. After working with her for a few weeks, Polly was experienced and had the ability to control the quality of the film. She was the perfect producer.

"When you get a good script, come back to me. I won't take on projects that are too cheap, like 'Hairspray'... Hahaha."

Ronald took Polly to the World Trade Center. This time everyone shot many scenes in the World Trade Center, but they didn't have the chance to go to the revolving restaurant or high-end clubs above. After the filming was packed, Ronald took this opportunity to ask the staff to come up and enjoy the treatment of Wall Street elites.

Kevin Wade, original screenwriter. And Cameron Crowe, the ghostwriter who later revised the film, was picked up by Ronald in a car because the filming of the film was over and the Screenwriters Guild's ban was no longer in effect, and he was taken to the high-rise restaurant.

There are several restaurants here, one of which specializes in high-end dinners. Ronald booked the restaurant during the noon period and held a relatively cheap lunch buffet. He also brought a lot of biscuits and red wine to make the hard-working employees happy.

After eating and drinking, Ronald drove the bus and took people to the former top spot in New York, Club 54. Ever since disco became less popular here and the owner was sent to jail by New York's trusted attorney general Rudy for tax evasion, selling alcohol without a license, and money laundering, there haven't been as many people here as before.

Most of the celebrities in the upper class went to a batch of small, less conspicuous clubs that were newly opened in Midtown. However, the reputation of the place is still there after all, and there are still some remnants of luxurious moments in the past, which makes the crew who came to the party happy.

Ronald didn't like the messy environment, so he entered the private room with the two screenwriters. He felt that Kevin Wade and Cameron Crowe were both talented screenwriters and would be just right to try to recruit them.

Kevin Wade is a fledgling film screenwriter. A big director expressed his appreciation and was very happy. He said that as long as Ronald is called, he will give priority to cooperating with him.

Ronald heard that the other party was very happy that his debut film had become a major production. He may have misunderstood that this was the norm in Hollywood, and he might not look down on projects that were not major projects. But it’s also a good thing to want to cooperate.

As for Cameron Crowe, he is much more realistic. He has been through the ups and downs and knows how rare opportunities are. Ronald's small production here asked him to revise the script, and he was willing.

However, after Crowe revised the play this time, he became interested in film directors again. He really wanted to try directing a movie himself to make up for his previous failure as a TV drama director.

"Since you want to be a director, I will pay attention to give you opportunities. In this way, you will work with me tomorrow and become a director. You must be familiar with all the work."

The next day, Ronald took Cameron Crowe and first came to Carly Simon's house.

She is a famous pop singer and the composer whom Ronald commissioned to write the theme song and soundtrack.

"I have completed the recording of the first version, Ronald. The script you gave me gave me a great challenge. I have been thinking about the theme of the Wall Street Hymn you mentioned."

Carly Simon’s studio is at home, and it’s a mess. She opened several drawers and rummaged through the tapes.

"Generally speaking, we need to let the composer know the plot in advance, and then let them understand where the music will be used." Ronald explained to Crowe next to him, who was holding a notebook and recording constantly.

"Of course, like most people, you can also find some ready-made music, or wait until the filming is completed and then find a composer to score the score. However, the tacit understanding between the music and the movie images is not as good as that of intervention in the early stage..."

Ronald has had this experience since "Top Gun". Large productions generally require multiple heads to work in parallel, so that the quality of creation is guaranteed.

"Ha, here it is." Carly Simon found the tape and handed it to Ronald. It had the word "River" written on it.

"Is that the name of the tune?" Ronald asked.

"That's right. This is my husband, Jim, who guides me to read books that can inspire me. The book he recommended, 'Finnegan's Wake', is the book that inspired me. The first word in the text is ' river'."

As she spoke, Carly Simon put the tape into a professional recorder, and a hymn-like melody slowly came out. The beautiful melody, Ronald was suddenly attracted.

"This must be the song in the dream. It is very exciting and touching..."

After a few seconds of the intro of the choir boys' chorus, Carly Simon's powerful voice cut in, making both Ronald and Crowe sit up straight.

"Let the rivers run

Let all the dreamers wake up this country

Come, New Jerusalem

Silver city rises

The morning lights up the streets leading to them

The whistle calls them forward with song

…”

"What did you remember?" Ronald asked Cameron Crowe in a low voice as his whole body was excited by the music.

"I feel like I'm sitting on the Staten Island ferry, facing the Statue of Liberty and the World Trade Center."

“Is there a sense of mission, like God is calling you?”

"When you say that, it's true..." Crowe felt like he had been summoned from somewhere. Maybe he was born to be a film director, and maybe he wasn't as successful as Ronald...

"How about this, this is the melody that I thought of when Jim and I were traveling to Martha's Vineyard for the weekend, and then it flowed out like water. I temporarily named it the Wall Street Hymn." Carly Simon met the two It seems like I still like it.

"Yes, I think the choir intro is very good. Your voice has an impact that only ancient people could have. I like it very much. It makes the hairs on my body stand up."

"I like it too, the climax makes me want to cry..."

"I'm so happy when you say that. I just thought of the feeling of the hymn. When I was writing it, I had the image of the Staten Island ferry in my mind. The yellow ship crossed the river. I sang it when I was a child. The hymn just suddenly flowed in my heart.”

"Very good, I like it very much. You can make a version with the orchestra's official score, and I will take it to the editing room."

"I'm happy, really, Ronald. My record company heard it, and they didn't like the song very much and didn't want it on my new album. I told them it was my best song in ten years. A very satisfying song.”

With the demo in hand, Ronald took his leave and came with Crowe to meet Walter Murch.

"Is this one? What's its name? It fits the long aerial shots at the beginning and end." Murch also listened to this interlude. He is a combination of video and sound editors and oversaw Ronald's post-editing and production.

"I don't have a name, why don't I use the first sentence as my name?"

"Let the rivers run? Nice."

Murch took the tape and wrote on it the words "Let the river run", "You will probably be very busy during your vacation this time. The Oscars will be awarded soon."

"Yeah, I have to canvass for votes. My agency has been urging me for a long time." Ronald looked at Crowe, and the two of them were about to return to Los Angeles. Crowe continued to follow Ronald and see all the work of film directors.

"I wish you good luck, although privately speaking, I would rather you be nominated. The nomination has proven your ability level. If you win, there may be an Oscar curse and you will have bad luck for a few years." Mr. Walter Murch He mentioned the bad luck and knocked on wood. He didn't want Ronald to have too high expectations.

"I understand that this kind of award is usually not awarded to me for the first time." Ronald smiled.